


maybe it's fate (or just dumb luck)

by carminesunset



Series: Potion Shop AU [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: AFTG Reverse Big Bang 2019, Alternate Universe - Magic, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Magic, Vaguely Medieval setting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-12 00:28:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18000338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carminesunset/pseuds/carminesunset
Summary: In the small town of Palmetto, everyone knows that there are two things certain in life:1. Taxes.2. Never expect good customer service from Andrew Minyard.





	maybe it's fate (or just dumb luck)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so happy to finally be posting this. This is officially the longest thing I have ever written, and while it may not be perfect, I'm still so proud of myself! I'm already so motivated to write more and improve.  
> A few thanks to:  
> [Niki,](https://versinfinietaudela.tumblr.com/) whose art prompt I chose! I had so much fun writing for your art, and I hope you really like what I've written :)  
> [Bea,](https://bluetheking.tumblr.com/) my beta! Without your advice, this fic could never have turned out the way it did. (Like seriously, you're a lifesaver!)  
> [J](https://little-french-assassin.tumblr.com), for being an awesome cheerleader, even while you were halfway around the world.  
> Gabrielle, for organizing this event!  
> And to everyone in the rbb for being really encouraging and fun to talk to!
> 
> Title from:  
> ["Fiction / Reality" by Hip! No Sister](https://youtu.be/dQ6AaIYyH6k?t=543)

When Aaron tells him that he wants to start a magic shop, he isn’t surprised. He is surprised, however, when he asks Andrew for help.

“I’m not interested in potions or magic.”

“I know,” says Aaron. “But you have a natural affinity for plants, and certain medicinal plants are so hard to grow. I don’t want it to just be a potions shop. I want it to be a _magic_ shop, healing included.”

Andrew exhales, and the smoke of his cigarette curls around them both.

“You wouldn’t have to do much, except maybe man the front of the clinic gets busy. Please — “

“Don’t say that.” Andrew drops his cigarette in the grass and smothers it with the heel of his boot. They’re both stubborn, but Andrew is always soft when it comes to his brother. “I’ll think about it.”

Aaron, knowing that it is the closest he could get to an answer, doesn’t push the issue further, and gets up to walk back inside. “Thank you,” he says sincerely and Andrew waves him off.

Aaron is right, in that he had an affinity for plants. But it is a gift that he has no interest in cultivating. He isn’t even sure he can control it. Even now, a small daisy had bloomed in the hour he was lounging in the backyard. Its petals flutter prettily in the sunlight, and Andrew has a distinct impression that it is telling him, ‘Admire me! Admire me!’

He ignores it and lights up another cigarette.

-

The next few years are busy for the both of them, mostly Aaron. Their town of Palmetto isn’t one of the largest towns, but it is definitely bigger than some of the villages. Situated near a river and fertile lands, it is an ideal place for both merchants and farmers.

Andrew jumps from job to job. Most places are excited to hire him when they hear of his talents with plants and his memory, but quickly tire of him when they learn of his terrible customer service manners. The longest job he has is with a greenhouse that allows him to do whatever he wants, within reason, as long as he speaks to the plants and waters them every once in a while. He grows to appreciate the plants, and while he still doesn’t have any desire to learn more magic, he finds that he is most at peace when surrounded by them.

After working there for two years, the greenhouse has no choice but to let him go. A recent drought had affected their business, and even with Andrew as the only employee, they were barely staying afloat.

“But,” says Kevin. “If you should ever need plants — medicinal or otherwise — my wife and I would be more than happy to extend a generous discount exclusive for you.”

After that, he goes back to bouncing around from job to job.

Aaron, however, is single-minded in his determination. He hounds the grouchy old town physician until he takes him as an apprentice. There is only one merchant who sells books related to magic and the healing arts. Without fail, Aaron picks through his wares every time he visits. The books he finds contains more knowledge than even the physician knew; it isn’t long before he earns the begrudging respect of the old man. It is during this time that he meets Katelyn, the youngest daughter of the merchant.  
As he devours knowledge of the healing arts, he also falls in love with Katelyn, and she falls in love with him.

(It will be years before Andrew accepts her presence in their lives.)

When Aaron tells her of his dream, she clasps his hand in hers.

“We’ve been circling around this, around _us_ for so long. With my family’s business contacts and your knowledge, we could do it together.”

And they do. The grouchy old physician leaves behind his clinic to Aaron, along with his clients, whose respect Aaron had slowly earned over the years. With Katelyn’s contacts, they were easily able to contract workers to re-do the front of the clinic. Instead of a sterile waiting room, patients had the option of going into a more private side room or lingering among the plants of the front shop.

As for Andrew, he feels — bereft. For so long it has been only him and Aaron, and for Katelyn to appear, it feels lonesome. Not that he would ever say so.

“What do you need me for, anyway?” Andrew idly asks as he watches Aaron sweat over a cauldron. They’re in front of the store. Really, the potions are meant to be brewed in one of the back rooms, but there was so much construction going on, there was hardly any room to move, let alone brew. Here at the storefront, there’s a vine that has taken a shine to him, and he lets a tendril wrap around his finger as he speaks. In a few years he suspects the plant will cover the entirety of the wall, if not every available surface. “You know I’m not going to bother with pleasantries when it comes to customers.”

“Customers will come to trust our store if I do things right. Whether or not you’re rude won’t be an issue.” Aaron finally looks up from the cauldron, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Besides, this dream of mine has always included you in it, in some way. I don’t want to change that. If you don’t want anything to do with the shop, that’s fine. But whatever capacity you feel like fulfilling here — I’m glad for you to stay.”

Andrew… doesn’t know what to say to that. He himself has the tendency to be frank, but it’s unusual for Aaron to be. Instead of replying, he turns away from Aaron to the begonias on the windowsill. “Then I’ll stay,” he gruffly says.

They never mention the conversation again, but Aaron doesn’t say anything when Andrew has the first and last choice of the plants in the shop. They’re even more lucky, considering the discount on plants from Kevin and Thea. The couple’s collection contains plants so rare and exotic, he has only ever seen them in books. He carefully picks out the plants with medicinal properties and arranges them carefully around the store. He leaves the rarer plants with the greenhouse if only because he doesn’t trust customers not to ruin them given the chance. The poppies and aloe don’t get along he knows, and he makes sure that they aren’t on the same sides of the store; he can still feel their indignance when he spends too much time with one plant over the other though.

-

The first week after they open, the small store is flooded with customers. Some of the townsfolk have even taken to faking minor ailments to be admitted to the clinic.

“Some of us wants to know who the eye candy — ah, the _new physician_ — will be,” says old lady Gertrude from two blocks over. “The last one was a grouch. It will be nice to have some fresh faces in this part of town.” She pats him on the cheek and presses a candy into his palm before shuffling out of the store. He knows she’ll probably be disappointed once she meets Aaron. His bedside manner is no better than Andrew’s.

Andrew finds himself easily overwhelmed by the amount of people, especially in an enclosed space. Thankfully, Katelyn is quick and jumps in to help and field customers away from the equally exhausted brothers.

At the end of that first week, they all drop down onto the couch in the back, barely able to move. They close an entire hour after they had planned because of the excess customers.

“Here, let me get this.” Katelyn heaves herself up from the couch and wobbles over to the desk. She pulls out a large glass bottle of whiskey and three glasses before flopping back down onto the couch between them both. Andrew is so exhausted he can’t muster the energy to be annoyed that their knees are touching. Katelyn pours a generous serving for all three of them, and Aaron makes grabby hands at his portion.

“To us,” Katelyn cheers and raises her glass to the air. They drink.

Aaron picks up the bottle to serve himself another helping and reads the label as he does so. “Katelyn, this stuff is expensive. Where the hell did you get it?”

“You can thank my older brother Robert.” She winks at him and downs the rest in her glass, wincing as she does. “Don’t worry, he won’t notice it.”

“Are you sure?” Aaron asks. “I don’t want to get on his bad side.”

“I don’t give a fuck what he thinks,” says Andrew. His voice is gravelly with exhaustion. “Just give me the damn drink.” Katelyn obligingly pours more for him.

-

It takes many months, but finally it feels as though they are truly settling into things. The business begins to grow, too, and Aaron even considers getting a receptionist — but knowing how Andrew is with strangers encroaching on his space, decides that _that_ would be a matter for another day.

There is also some talk about possibly going into a partnership with another doctor the next town over: Abby, she is called. She is retiring soon, and was thinking of moving to Palmetto herself. Andrew has yet to meet her, but according to Katelyn, she’s the sweetest person on the planet.

“She’s retiring soon. What’s the point?” Andrew asks Aaron one day as they’re sitting down for dinner.

“She has a wealth of knowledge that even I don’t have, yet. She has more practical knowledge than I do.  Do you remember when I had to help deliver that baby without the help of a midwife?” Andrew grimaces. He definitely remembers.

“It’s also networking,” Katelyn points out. “It’s a bit of a snowball effect. My father taught me. You make nice with one person who will then introduce you to another person and so on. Abby recently told me about a Dr. Dobson. She’s very knowledgeable in the mind arts.” She turns to Aaron. “I think it would do well for us to contact her.”

Aaron looks at her with a soppy gaze. “Whatever you think is best.” Andrew mimes gagging from across the table.

The business grows, and after two years, they have developed a routine. The clinic opens early, and Aaron begins brewing any potions that need to be restocked, while Katelyn double checks the store’s inventory. Andrew comes in later to open the front and check on the plants - and honestly, the only reason it opens later is that Andrew is not fit for human interaction before eight in the morning and his two cups of coffee.

This morning begins just as usual. When Andrew unlocks the door to the front, coffee in hand, the plants perk up from where they’re resting in their pots. A few leaves unfurl to brush by his cheek and hair as he walks by. When he pulls the watering can from its shelf, some of the plants pull away. He ignores those as he waters the other plants. The marigolds, in particular, seem delighted by him today.

With the plants taken care of, he flips the sign of the store to “Open”.

It’s a Monday, so there usually aren’t many customers, especially this early. He resigns himself to another boring day and flips through a random book, as he lounges at the front desk.  
At around noon the door opens, and a bell chimes throughout the store.

“Welcome to the Minyard Shop of Magic and Medicine. What can I get you?” He asks automatically. He doesn’t look up as the customer’s boots squeak across the store.

“Do you happen to sell blood replenishers?” asks the customer who is most definitely a newcomer. And Andrew knows everyone in this town — he wouldn’t be able to forget a face even if he tried. He looks up from his book, deliberately scanning the stranger from his ratty boots to his ice-blue eyes. He’s wearing two cloaks, apparently, with one of the hoods pulled up over his hair and the other hanging down. From what he can see, the man has bright auburn hair.

“We might,” he says as casually as possible because damn it if he can’t help but notice that the stranger is attractive. “You new here?”

The stranger blinks. “Ah, yeah. I am. I purchased the cottage in the woods, about a half hour's walk from here.”

Andrew raises an eyebrow at that but doesn’t ask further. He steps away from the counter and shuffles through the bottles on the shelf. Blood replenishing potions are on the more expensive side, seeing as it is both costly and time-consuming to make, so they are stored behind the counter instead of displayed at the front of the store. After a moment of pushing around delicate bottles, he manages to unearth one from behind two suspiciously brown potions. He makes a face and sets it down on the counter.

“That’ll be 8 gold pieces.” He stares at the stranger blankly as the correct amount is dutifully counted out. He pushes the potion toward the stranger and turns away.

“Wait, um. I didn’t get your name,” says the stranger. When Andrew turns back around to face him, he looks earnest.

“You’re right. You didn’t.”

“I’m Neil. Neil Josten. I’m from the city.” He looks like he wants to say more, but hesitates. His eyes dart behind Andrew and then back.

“Interesting,” says Andrew, who is most definitely not interested at all, definitely not, nope. “Will that be all?”

“Er, yeah.” Neil turned to leave after pocketing the potion but turned back. “Actually… Could you direct me to the butcher’s store?”

Andrew pointed out the door. “Across the street.”

“Right.” Neil shuffled away but turned around again. “And… the bakery?”

“Next door.” Finally, he watches as the man leaves, this time with only a quick glance behind. Katelyn walks in from the back, brushing a few locks of hair from her face.

“Who was it?”

Andrew shrugs. “Someone new in town. A Neil Josten, apparently.”

“Huh,” she says. She’s looking at Andrew calculatingly, and he doesn’t like it.

“What,” he says, but she just hums. He turns away instead, only to face a smugly-waving vine. “ _What?”_ He asks it, only to be rebuffed by the plant falling still. Somehow over the years his plants have learned to become sassy.

The first few months after he moves into town, Neil visits the shop every other week. That changes when Andrew casually asks him what he does with the potions. Neil looks abashed at that question and admits, “I foster a lot of abandoned or injured animals in the woods. It’d be easier to brew potions myself, but I’ve never been gifted with potions.”

After that, Neil comes in a few times a week, always with the same two hoods. Andrew doesn’t discover what the two hoods are for, until one day when Neil is carefully examining the aloe plant in the corner. The poppies on the other side of the store are fluttering in the non-existent wind, and Andrew sprinkles them with water to curb their demand for attention. It is then that he notices movement in Neil’s second hood. A small, fluffy head with big adoring eyes pops out from the confines of the hood and lets out the tiniest mew.

At that, Neil’s head jerks around to try and peer at the creature inside of his hood.

“Oh, you’re awake!” He exclaims. “Not tired anymore, just hungry, I see. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you eat well soon.” Andrew quirks an eyebrow at Neil, who turns sheepish. “This is Sir Fat Cat McCatterson. I fostered her, but she decided she wanted to stay.”

“‘Sir Fat Cat McCatterson’? Why that name?”

“I was going to name her Biscuit, but the name didn’t exude enough power for her taste.” Neil carefully reaches behind and pulls the kitten from his hood. “Is it alright if I let her roam?”

“Go for it,” Andrew replies, as he watches Neil placing the kitten in front of the aloe plant. It sniffs at the plant, but Neil quickly pulls it away before it can take a nibble. “That’s the only one you’re hiding in there?" Andrew asks. "Got any toads in your boots? Though I guess it’d be hard to hide any creatures with the state those are in...”

Neil looks down at his boots; they're practically falling apart and one of them has an unfortunate hole in the toe. “You’re probably right.” The kitten, noticing his attention was directed toward his shoes, pounces on an errant shoelace with tiny claws. She bats at it, and Neil humors her with a few flicks of his hand.

“You never told me how you started taking care of animals or what you exactly do,” Andrew says, after watching them play for a few minutes. He crosses his arms, leaning over the counter to peer over the edge. “With the amount of potions you buy, I’m surprised you haven’t run out of gold, yet.”

“Well I’ve always preferred animals to humans; I’ve found caring for them comes naturally to me. I don’t always help animals I find in the woods, though. I’m sometimes hired by folks who want me to care for their injured livestock or pets. I’ve even had a man come in with a tarantula.”

Andrew continues to watch Neil and the kitten, who turns her attention to the vines adorning the walls, as he pretends to read at the register. Around half past noon, a customer comes rushing in — his cousin.

-

One chilly fall morning, they were awoken by a brisk knock on the door. Aaron, who had fallen asleep reading in front of the fireplace, was the first to open the door.

Nicky was standing there, hooded and shivering, with a shadow of a smile on his face — Andrew and Aaron would soon learn that this smile was but a mere ghost in comparison to his usual grin.

“My name is Nicky,” he said then. “I don’t know if you remember me, but I last saw you when you were very young. I’m your cousin.” Both he and Aaron were silent for a moment. Andrew stepped out from the shadows, and Nicky jerked in surprise, but it was obvious he was relieved at the sight of him.

“How do we know you’re actually our cousin?” Andrew asked.

“When you two were young, Andrew had this phase where all you would eat was bread topped with butter and sugar. As for Aaron...” His eyes flicked between them, taking in Andrew’s stiff posture, and Aaron’s crossed arms. He turned to Aaron. “As for Aaron, his favorite game was playing pirates. Then afterward, he’d heal any boo-boos with a kiss. You learned that from me, actually.”

“I remember that,” Aaron said, after a moment of silence. “We were climbing a tree, pretending it was the mast of a ship’s sail, and Andrew fell and scraped his elbow. You cleaned it and wrapped it. After you kissed the wound, saying it would heal all the boo-boos, I wanted to do it, too.” Nicky’s half-smile morphed into a grin.

“You do remember!”

“Please, come inside.” Aaron stepped back, and Nicky stepped inside, shaking his hair free from dewy droplets of water.

“Is it just you two? I haven’t heard from Aunt Til —”

“She’s dead,” Andrew said bluntly and watched Nicky’s face fall impassively. “Good riddance, too.”

Nicky was visibly flabbergasted. “You can’t say that! She’s your mother —”

“She gave birth to me, but I’d hardly call her my mother.”

“Andrew —” Aaron cut in, but Andrew was walking away back to his bedroom.

“I’m going back to bed. Don’t wake me up until the sun is actually up.”

Things between them were strenuous at first, but it eventually thawed into an unspoken, uneasy truce. Nicky never mentioned their other family members ever again, especially after Andrew had pointedly asked him why he had left his own ailing parents.  
Despite all this though, Nicky had an unerring ability to poke his nose into everything. If Andrew was an immovable object, Nicky was the unstoppable force. Through sheer stubbornness, he managed to worm his way into both Aaron and Andrew’s lives.  
It was through Aaron and Katelyn, actually, that he had been able to meet the love of his life Erik, who was one of their business contacts; it was love at first sight.

-

“I’ll leave you to your customer,” says Neil, pulling Andrew from his memories. With a smile toward both Andrew and Nicky, he leaves the shop, kitten in hand. Hood. Whatever.

“He’s a cutie,” Nicky smirks. “Do you know if he’s single?”

“You’re married, and happily so,” Andrew points out.

“You can’t blame me for looking,” Nicky sighs. “He’s one handsome man. There’s no way he’s single though...” Nicky trails off into a thoughtful hum, and Andrew rolls his eyes, knowing what’s coming next. “Speaking of single, when are you going to settle down with someone? Or at least date a little? Listen, the baker next door has a cousin your age. She’s from the next town over, I heard that she does gardening as a hobby, and is a great cook. If you want, I can pop over to the baker’s shop and ask him — hey, wait, where are you going? I’m still talking, you know!” But Andrew is already walking away with a single-fingered salute. He can feel the pout that is being directed at him. “You’re going to find true love this year! I know it! I can feel it in my bones!” The last of his words are directed at the door to the back room.

He finds Aaron in the back room, poring over some texts with a concentrated look. Andrew flops down onto the couch in the corner of the room, lets his arm fall limply over his eyes.

“Was that Nicky I heard out there?” he asks mildly. The bell at the front chimes, so Andrew assumes Nicky has left.

“Yeah.”

“What’d he want?”

“Nothing, he just came to bother me.”

”And Neil?” The quirk of Aaron’s eyebrow irritates Andrew. If there was a saying about how being married to someone made them the same person, it was definitely true. Case in point: all of Aaron’s expressions. And it’s even more irritating when it’s their shared face directing the _irritating_ expressions at him.

“Just came to talk.”

“Huh.” Andrew looks out from under his arm and rolls his eyes. Aaron pushes up his glasses with that same expression Katelyn had the first time Neil came in. “He comes here a lot, don’t you think?”

“For someone who should be working, you’re not doing a lot of it.”

“I should be saying the same to you.” Aaron looks pointedly at the front. When Andrew sits up, he stretches out his back with a crack and strides back over to the door.

-

A week later, Andrew walks into the shop to find a small but cozy couch in the corner of the store. He stares at it for a moment, walks out of the shop, then back in.

It’s still there.

“The fuck?” He asks when Katelyn walks in.

“It’s for guests if they want to sit down. I took the liberty of moving one of the chairs from the waiting room,” she says casually. Andrew just stares.

“I need a cigarette,” he declares and walks out of the shop again to hunker at the storefront. If he were at home, he would just smoke inside, but he hates the grumbling from the plants when he does it inside the shop.

This is how Neil finds him a couple hours later. Thankfully, he doesn’t ask any questions. Instead he joins Andrew on the ground.

“Mind if I…?” Neil gestures to Andrew’s cigarette. Andrew hands it over without comment and watches from the corner of his eye, as he takes in a deep inhale. He coughs a little, but he seems to relish in the smoke of the cigarette, letting it curl around in face in delicate white wisps. He’s mesmerized.

“Thanks.” Neil hands the cigarette back over, and Andrew pulls his gaze away from Neil with great effort. When he puts his lips back on the cigarette, he is struck with the thought that his lips are touching where Neil’s has been.

Neil takes another deep breath of cigarette smoke and squints off into the clouds. The quiet between them is comforting, even amongst the hustle and bustle of the town. Between drags of his cigarette, Andrew glances at Neil.

“You look tired,” Andrew says after a while.

“There was a cow having trouble delivering a calf. Took the farmer and I all night to help them.”

“They’re alright, then?”

Neil glances over at Andrew with the tiniest of smiles. “Perfectly healthy, but we’ll have to keep an eye on them for the next few weeks.”

Andrew thinks about it for a moment, and, well, they had the room, so why not use it?

“... There’s an empty couch inside if you want to catch up on some sleep.”

“In the back?”

“No, the front. My brother and sister-in-law added one there.” Andrew jerks his head in the direction of the shop, then stands up, brushing off the seat of his pants. “It’s in the corner by the aloe. I’ll show you.”

Neil holds open the door for Andrew and makes a beeline for the couch. He must be more tired than he lets on because he falls asleep immediately after his head touches the couch, with Sir cuddled up in his arms. He’s huddled into himself with a hand curled next to his cheek; funnily enough, Sir mimics that pose with a paw by her cheek.

Andrew lets them sleep.

-

The shop and clinic are busy enough that Andrew hardly gets a break, not to mention Aaron, who is run ragged in the back. During a brief lull of customers, Andrew manages to find time to fling his own cloak over Neil, to keep him warm.

Neil wakes up when Andrew is closing for the night. “Honestly, I’m surprised I slept that long. I normally don’t sleep in an unfamiliar place… I guess it was more comfortable here than I thought.” Neil watches as Andrew wipes down the counter tops and counts the inventory. Aaron and Katelyn had left earlier for a house call the town over; normally, he would have some help closing up, but he finds peace in the silence between them. Before he steps into the back to restock the front, Neil offers his own help.

Andrew tosses him a broom, and Neil sweeps the floors. He watches in amusement as some of the vines on the ceiling dips down to tangle in Andrew’s curls.

“Stop it,” he says absently and swats it away. Another one comes curling around his wrist, tugging gently. When he continues to ignore it, the plant jabs him harshly in the cheek. Andrew smacks a leaf, and it pulls away offended.

“What?” He asks, annoyed at the plant. "Don't look at me like that, _You_ started it." It draws away toward the base of the wall, and he follows. Neil also sets aside his broom to approach the plant; when they draw near, the branches of the vine part to reveal the tiniest kitten; it was so young, its eyes were still closed, and it was just about the size of Andrew’s finger. He has never seen such a tiny creature before.

Neil immediately kneels down to pick up the kitten, tucking it gently in his palms. His face is more serious than he has ever seen it. “You poor thing,” he murmurs. Sir peeps out from his hood and meows in interest at the kitten.

“We sometimes have stray cats that visit. But I don’t recall seeing a pregnant cat entering.”

“This one is a runt… It could be that it was abandoned. Without any help, he’ll die. Do you have any milk I can feed it?” Neil asks.

“No,” Andrew says. “But I live nearby, and — ” he abruptly stops for a moment to peruse the shelves, pulling out a bright green nutrient potion “ — we can use this. It’s one of our weaker ones, so it should be safe for him to consume.”

“Thank you. I can —”

“Don’t even think about it,” Andrew interrupts. “This isn’t even worth half a gold piece.”

Neil cradles the kitten in his arm, tucking his cloak around it securely to make sure it wouldn’t be cold. Then, they set out for Andrew’s shared home.

With Katelyn and Aaron gone, it’s just the two of them there. Their old home had been claustrophobic with its tiny floor plan, but the success of the store allowed them to expand it. Thankfully. Andrew’s not sure how he would feel if confronted with Aaron and Katelyn’s sex life.

He unlocks the door with a key from around his neck and gestures for Neil to walk in first. When they both walk in, he kicks off his boots, Neil following suit.

“You got new boots,” Andrew says. Neil looks down at the indeedly new boots and wiggles his toes. That points Andrew to a new issue, though. “But your socks have three holes too many in them. How the hell do you walk around without getting blisters?”

Neil shrugs. “I’m fine.”

Andrew ignores him and walks past him to the modest kitchen. As he thought, there was a small bottle of milk left over from the morning’s delivery. He pulls it from the shelf and hands it to Neil, who unravels his cloak.

“Mind if I...” He gestures over to the pillows in front of the living room fireplace, and Andrew shrugs. Neil sits down and cradles the tiny kitten in his lap. It’s a dirty, scraggly little thing, with gray fur and a white mark on its forehead. Before he can ask, Andrew grabs a spare rag and wets the corner in a bit of water, handing it over to Neil. It squirms in his lap, letting out little cries of distress, as he wipes its fur clean. When he’s done, its fur springs up around its head, not unlike a tiger. Andrew hovers behind his back to watch. Sir, bereft of her owner’s attention, meows and climbs out of Neil’s hood to also peer down at the creature. They both watch curiously as he opens the bottle of milk and dips the other side of the rag in it. He coaxes the kitten, and it eventually begins to suckle gently at the fabric. It wriggles over onto its back, paws twitching in the air.

“Are you going to name it?” Andrew asks. When he glances over to Neil, he can’t help but stare at the soft half-smile he has.

“Well… He’s definitely fluffy.”

“Fluffy is an overrated name.”

“I once had a pet raven named Fluffy,” Neil says absently. “Until he decided to take a crap on my head — for shits and giggles you could say.”

“Should’ve known better than to make a raven your pet, then. They tend to be assholes.”

“Interesting, cause I’m friends with you.”

“We’re not friends,” Andrew says automatically.

“Are you sure?” Neil begins counting on his fingers. “We see each other almost every day —”

“I see my old headmaster almost every day.”

“— I’ve slept on your couch —”

“A couch my sister-in-law provided.”

“— You let me tend to your plants —”

“They’re just plants.”

“— Which can’t just be unimportant plants because you don’t even let your brother water them, and I know how much you care for them. You talk to your plants more often than you talk to your customers.” Neil smirks over at Andrew, who rolls his eyes and pushes away. He doesn’t bother with a proper response. Sir perks up at this and scrambles up onto all fours to follow Andrew.

For all that he is uninterested in magic, he does admit that it has some uses. It only takes a whispered spell for the fireplace in the kitchen to light up. He tosses in more wood and jabs it with a fire poker.

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” He asks Neil. “And before you say you’re fine, I know you didn’t have any lunch.”

He can hear the smile in Neil’s voice. “Thank you, Andrew. I’d like that.”

Andrew fiddles with the fire a little bit more before hanging a pot of water over it to boil. He jabs at the fire once more and then stands up, brushing off his pants. When he does, he remembers the nutrient potion left in his pocket. He pulls it out along with another rag and hands it to Neil, who accepts it with a quiet thanks.

“Sit down.” Neil pats the seat beside him. “You won’t scare him.”

Andrew takes the offered seat, along with Sir, who hops up into his lap to knead biscuits into his thigh.

“He’s so small.” The kitten squirms away from the potion, but with Neil’s gentle murmurs, he manages to coax it into drinking a few drops.

“There you go,” he says sweetly. “Wow, you sure are hungry, huh? We’ll make sure to get you fed and healthy, just like a king. A fluffy one.”

The firelight in the kitchen casts a dim glow over them both. Neil’s auburn hair is turned a ruddy brown in the light, but it highlights the curve of his ear, the jut of his cheekbones, the skin on his neck — Andrew is filled with the sudden urge to taste and to touch.

He looks away, overwhelmed.

“You should name him that.”

“Name him what?”

“King.”

Neil looks thoughtful at that, and lightly tickles the kitten’s belly. It wriggles and a bit of milk dribbles from its mouth, which Neil mops up with one of the rags. “King. Sir and King. King… Fluffy? How does that sound?” He asks, but he directs it to the cat. “No, not quite. King Fluffkins?”

“That’s a terrible name.”

“At least I name my pets. Gerald was quite unhappy until I named him.”

“You mean the aloe?” Andrew whips his head around to stare at Neil incredulously. “You named one of the shop plants? How do you even know that the aloe likes it? That one’s picky as fuck, I have no idea how you managed to name it without it getting all defensive.”

“I didn’t,” Neil says. “I’m just fucking with you.” Andrew can see then that he’s smirking. “Though the way you said that… You can talk to plants?”

Andrew crosses his arms with a huff and slouches back into the couch.

“Kind of. Consider it an…” He gestures vaguely into the air. “An affinity, of sorts.”

Neil hums at that and puts the rags and bottles to the side. The kitten is sleeping and perfectly still, except for the occasional twitch of its tiny paws and tail. Sir gets up from Andrew’s lap and sprawls in between them pointedly. Neil places the tiny kitten within the sprawl of Sir’s limbs, and she adjusts to make sure he is wrapped in her warmth.

“You’re not worried about him?”

“No, not really. I don’t get the chance to foster many kittens, but Sir really enjoys taking care of them.” Sir snuffles at the kitten and carefully licks at his fur. Neil runs his hand across her back and scratches her ears in reward. “I get a lot of baby birds and the occasional puppy, but Sir’s favorites are the kittens.”

“You speak as though you can tell what she’s thinking.”

“You can call it an affinity, of sorts,” Neil says, parroting Andrew.

He lets Neil laugh at his own joke. “Touche.”

They watch the cats, and the silence between them, Andrew finds, is comfortable. Neil doesn’t feel the need to fill the quiet with unnecessary talk, and he appreciates it.

“Do you want to pet her?” Neil asks in a whisper. Sir’s ear twitches, but she doesn’t move. “When she’s sleeping, it takes a lot for her to move.” Neil holds out a hand to Andrew, and he stares at it in surprise. “Can I touch your hand?” His question is barely a breath between them.

Andrew’s fist clenches, but he finds himself reaching out after only a moment’s hesitation.

Neil doesn’t grab his hand or wrist as he expects; instead, he guides Andrew’s hand with the tips of his fingers against his wrist to gently pet across Sir’s back. The minute points of contact burn against his skin, and he releases a breath he doesn’t realize he was holding when he is finally petting Sir.

Later, he’ll remember this as the first time they ever touched.

It should be dumb, being guided to pet a cat of all things, but instead he feels calm. Sir is warm under his hand and her fur is softer than anything he has ever felt. When he runs his palm down her back, he can feel the ridges of her spine.

Their quiet calm is broken when the kitten — King Fluffkins, Andrew remembers — lets out a mew of distress. He wiggles for a moment, and Sir uncurls herself to groom the kitten. Neil and Andrew back away from each other — since when had they moved so close together? — and he can’t help but feel caught out, adrift. With all the care of a surgeon, Neil picks up Sir, carefully inspecting him.

“It looks like he needs stimulation.”

What? “He can barely open his eyes, though.”

“Not that.” Neil seems to be looking for a way to phrase his words. “He’s... well. Kittens need help releasing their waste. Usually, the mother cats will do this, but in cases like his, the job comes down to either their foster humans or another mother cat.”

“... What do you need?”

“A washcloth dipped in warm water.” Neil pauses to think for a moment. “Maybe several. And we should move somewhere in case it gets too dirty.”

They move to the kitchen to sit in front of the fire, and Andrew watches in equal fascination and disgust as Neil puts King down in the palm of his hand, belly down and gently stimulates him with the washcloth. When he’s done, he wipes away the grime and sets him back in the reach of Sir.

“I should get going,” Neil says, as he washes his hands afterward. From the window, they can both see that it was far later than they had planned. “It’s late, and I don’t want to impose.”

“Stay the night,” Andrew offers before he can think about it. “You won’t impose. Besides, it’s cold and dark out. You’re still staying for dinner, aren’t you?”

He seems to hesitate, but nods. “If you don’t mind...”

“Usually Aaron or Katelyn cook. I can make some pretty damn good porridge, though.” When Neil doesn’t move, Andrew juts his chin toward the kitchen table. “Sit down. Shouldn’t take long.”

It isn’t long before he’s plating the food into bowls for them. He and Aaron had made beef jerky a few nights prior; the only reason why they have any left over is that Aaron was out of town. Andrew goes to tear a few pieces into Neil’s porridge, but he’s stopped.

“Oh, no — I didn’t realize —”

“You don’t eat meat?” Andrew guessed, pulling away from Neil’s bowl.

“Yeah, sorry.” Neil’s apologetic grin was more of a grimace. “When you can almost literally talk to animals, it gets a bit… weird.”

Andrew nods and they both begin eating in a comfortable silence.

After they finish, Neil offers to help with the dishes, which Andrew accepts, thigh reluctantly. It isn’t long before they are turning in for the night.

“Here,” Andrew says, and tosses a spare set of blankets and pillows to Neil. He catches it with barely a blink of an eye. “It’s not much, but luckily it won’t be very cold tonight.”

“Thank you,” Neil says. He nudges Sir and King out of the way; Sir is apparently troubled by this and hisses at him briefly before grasping King by the scruff of his neck and moving them both to the warm stones by the fireplace.

“Feel free to keep the fire lit all night if you wish. I’ll be in the room over there —“ He points to his bedroom. “— so let me know if you need anything. Only an emergency. And definitely don’t wake me up if you can help it.” With that, he abruptly turns on his heel and leaves.

He finds that he is — discomfited. All night, he’s felt as though someone else has been moving his limbs and making him speak. Something about Neil draws him in, and if it wasn’t so obscenely cliche, he’d describe himself as a moth that is drawn to Neil’s flame.

He thinks of the way Neil’s strong, but gentle hands cradled the kitten, and the way the curl of his smile bore cracks into his defenses.

Fuck.

Somehow, during their friendship, he has come to see Neil in a fond light. He doesn’t think it’s quite love — not yet, at least, and that quite scares him — but he knows it’s only a matter of time.

-

“Good morn —“ Neil’s greeting is immediately stopped with a hand. Andrew shuffles over to where Neil has already started boiling the water for coffee. It takes only a moment to find the jar of coffee grounds, and Andrew quickly tosses them into the boiling water and gives it only a cursory stir. By now, even half awake, all he needs is to eyeball the amount. When he turns back to put away the jar, he can see Neil standing back with an amused smile.

“What,” he says warily.

“Nothing, it’s just…” Neil trails off and Andrew notices his gaze traveling upward, to his hair, which is most definitely wrecked in the most awful bedhead. He reaches up to tug at a wayward curl and his expression sours at Neil’s laugh. Aaron never has this problem. Somehow he wakes up every morning as though he had sprung fresh from a spring of eternal youth. Or something. Every morning Andrew wakes up, his hair is a mess, he has creases on his cheek, and he could probably build a triplet of himself with the sleep gathered from his eyes.

“Whatever,” he grouches, and turns back to the pot of coffee. He stirs it once more and uses the hem of his tunic to pick it up and remove it from the fire.

After covering the pot with a lid to let it brew, he allows a moment to close his eyes and lean against the cabinet. He feels more than hears Neil walk over to stand beside him. From where they’re standing, he can hear the trees whispering to him through the window.

“It’s going to rain tomorrow,” Andrew says after a moment of silence. “You should make sure you have a sturdier coat.”

“I will. Thanks.” A pause, then, “Did you sleep well? ‘Cause it looks like your hair had a good time.”  Andrew cracks open an eye to glare balefully at him.

“How the fuck are you so perky so early?”

Neil quirks up an eyebrow. “Early? I had a run and then came back. This is considered a late morning for me. I’m usually out and about by now. By the way, the milkman delivered the milk. I put it on the table for you.”

Andrew groans and pushes away, pouring the hot coffee into a cup. How he could be so perky at this time of the morning, Andrew does not know. He dreads letting Aaron and Neil officially meet. They would probably meet up to — goddess forbids — talk about magic or science and wake up early to go exercise, of all things. He shudders at the thought.

Sir pads into the kitchen, meowing for their attention, and circles around Neil's legs once, twice.

“How’s King?” Andrew asks casually. Even after just a few sips of coffee, he could feel clarity coming to his thoughts.

Neil picks Sir up, scratching under her chin with soft murmurs of care. “Sleeping. That’s pretty much all they do at that age. I had to feed him often, too.”

Andrew hums at that and watches as Sir wriggles to get away after a few moments, which Neil obliges by dropping her onto the ground. She lands gracefully on her feet and trots away with her tail in the air, satisfied.

“Are you opening the shop today?” Neil asks.

“Yes, though maybe a little later than usual.” He peeks through the curtains to the outside. “Definitely a little later. It’s no matter. This is one of our slow days, and everyone knows Aaron and Katelyn are out of town. What about you? Don’t you have your own animals to tend to?”

At this, Neil looks a little guilty. “Yes… Staying the night put me behind on my tasks today. I won’t be able to visit you today, maybe tomorrow if it gets busier.”

Andrew waved a hand in dismissal. “Doesn’t matter to me. And anyway...” There’s always a place for you here, he suddenly wants to say, but can’t. “And anyway, we’ll see each other again soon.” It was the closest he could say without outright admitting that he was looking forward to seeing him again. Soon enough, they part ways: Neil, with Sir tucked back in his hood and King in his arms, and Andrew, with his coffee in hand.

The day is slow and quiet without Neil there.

-

On the third evening after Aaron and Katelyn’s departure, they stumble through the door, exhausted. Andrew is smoking by the back porch again; he heard the rattle of the horse and cart, but he didn’t bother to get up to greet them. The back door opens, letting out a brief gust of warm air before the cold overtakes him again. Normally he would sit in the grass and listen to the trees whisper, but it has been raining almost nonstop the past day and night. Instead, he huddles by the door on the steps, protecting the flame of his cigarette with a cupped hand.

Aaron sits down next to him, and unlike with Neil, Andrew observes dourly, the silence is awkward and almost stifling. Aaron seems poised to speak, but hesitant. As though he wants Andrew to speak first. He stays stubbornly silent, instead.

“Katelyn’s gone to rest. The last leg of the trip was tiring for both of us.” Still, Andrew says nothing. He waits for Aaron to get to what he really wants to say. “Andrew.” He obliges him with the most minute of head turns. “Katelyn’s pregnant. We don’t — we don’t know the gender yet, but I’ll be able to tell with a spell after a few months.”

He doesn’t know what else to say, and neither does Aaron, it seems.

“Congratulations,” he manages after awhile.

“Thank you.” Curt. They were never ones for niceties, even after all these years. Aaron gestures at the cigarette. Andrew hands it over with an annoyed glance but is surprised when Aaron doesn’t stub it out. Instead, he takes a weak inhale; it’s the most he can do without coughing his lungs out. Which he does. Andrew smiles under the cover of his hand.

“Shut up,” Aaron says, handing back the cigarette. An unlucky drop of water lands of the butt of the cigarette, promptly snuffing it out. “Serves it right,” Aaron mutters, and Andrew doesn’t pretend to not grin, as he fishes out another cigarette, lighting it with a match. This time he offers a drag of the cigarette, which Aaron refuses.

“Was there anything else you wanted to say?” Andrew asks because Aaron is still sitting here.

“I want you to be our child’s godfather.”

Andrew turns to him with an incredulous look. “What?”

“In case something ever happens to me or Katelyn — you know how much we travel — I want you to take care of the child.”

“Why?”

“Because I trust you.”

Andrew turns away from him and takes a deep drag of the cigarette. He lets the smoke linger in his lungs before exhaling, letting the smoke curl around him. This moment reminds him of another, years ago.

Though years have passed, he has never truly realized until now how far Aaron has come. How far the both of them have come. Once he could have said, with confidence, that he didn’t care for anything or anyone. But now he finds himself standing in the cold, the walls around his heart breaking down. He’s not sure if he wants to escape from it.

“Fine,” he says gruffly, staring into the rain. He sees Aaron nod from the corner of his eye. Neither of them says anything more as he goes back into the house. Andrew stays outside until the soft whispering of the trees become quiet.

-

Neil doesn’t visit for a week. It’s the longest he has ever been away from the shop since he started visiting regularly. After the second day, Andrew doesn’t worry. Both of them were busy.

After the fifth day, Andrew overhears town gossip of a group of visitors; they try to be discreet, but as in any small town, their presence is quickly noted.

“I think I saw them coming to or from the forest,” says one customer to another as they were browsing the wares. It’s the baker from next door and his husband, he recalls. Andrew pretends to be absorbed in his reading.

“That doesn’t mean anything, Jeremy,” says the other customer. “How do you not know if they were coming to or from the forest? Did you spot them walking aimlessly in circles or something? Honestly, you should just mind your own business.”

“I’m just curious, Jean,” says Jeremy the baker. He nudges aside several potions to reach for one in the back. Andrew resists the urge to smack him with the book he’s reading. “The innkeeper, Renee, said that they mentioned the name Hatford. So who knows what sort of shifty business they’re up to?”

After they leave, Andrew turns over this information in his head as he straightens up the bottles.

Hatford.

-

By the seventh day, Andrew is — worried. He jumps every time the door opens, greeting automatic, and is disappointed every time a customer who walks in isn’t Neil.

“Welcome,” he says automatically and looks up. It’s not Neil. Instead, it’s Nicky walking through the door with a basket under his arm. Nicky’s smile is blinding, as usual, and the wind outside has tossed his curls into a mess, but he looks completely unbothered.

“Hey, Andrew. Are Aaron and Katelyn here?”

“No. On a house call across town.”

“Oh.” Nicky looks disappointed but brightens again after a moment. “Oh! Here. I have something for you.” He sets his basket on the front desk and rummages around for a moment before producing a book; its spine is cracked from opening it repeatedly and the pages are lovingly dogeared. It’s obvious Nicky loves this book… whatever it is. He reads the title.

“Midnight?” He asks, then flips it over to read the summary.

“Yes,” Nicky gushes. “I admit, it’s not the best read out there. It's certainly not the most accurate depictions of vampires, but I think you’ll enjoy it. You should read it! You never read anything romance. The author is coming out with the fourth book soon - this is just the first book - but I heard there are some plot points in the finale that are bad.” Nicky shrugs. “I don’t care, though.”

“Yes, well, you were never a person of discerning taste,” Andrew says absently as he flips through the book. Just skimming it makes him question its quality.

Nicky pouts, leaning forward into Andrew’s space. He uses the book to push him away. “Listen!” His voice is muffled. Nicky pushes away the book. “Listen, just read a little bit of it, please? It’ll only take a couple of hours. I know how fast you read.”

Despite everything in him telling him to refuse, he takes the book and tucks it under the desk. “I can’t promise I’ll read it.”

“Even just a page, and I’ll be happy!”

Another customer comes in, but she says doesn’t need help. Andrew is tempted to ignore Nicky, but he knows the shit he'll be put through if he does.

“What did you need Aaron and Katelyn for, anyway? Were you going to give them this book?”

“Oh, no, definitely not. Aaron would mock me in a second.” He rummages again through his basket to pull out a ball of fabric.

“What is that supposed to be?”

“A onesie!” He shakes out the ball of fabric - which now looks to be something he knitted - and if he tilts his head and squints, he can sort of see the shape of the onesie. “And this is just one of many.” He pulls out several more bundles of fabric. “I can’t wait until the babies are born.” Nicky sighs, clutching the bundle of fabric to his chest. 

Wait.

“Babies?”

Nicky nods. “Babies. Plural. I have a feeling it’ll be twins.”

“What makes you say that?”

Nicky points at Andrew. “You.” He points outside. “Aaron.” He wiggles his hand between them to signify… something. “Twins.”

“There’s no guarantee that he’ll have twins, though.” Andrew points out.

“I’m telling you,” Nicky insists. “I have a gut feeling about this. When am I not right?”

“That time last month when you said you could match Roland shot for shot. That time last year when you said, ‘watch this’ and then proceeded to backflip from the pier into the water only to hit your head against the dock and almost drown from a concussion —“

“— Shh!” Nicky hissed, jerking forward to cover Andrew’s mouth with a hand. He unashamedly licks at his palm with as much slimy spit as he can, and Nicky jerks back with a cry of disgust. “Really, Andrew? Are you five?”

“No,” deadpans Andrew. “I’m eleven.”

Nicky looks at Andrew with so much disbelief, his saliva-covered hand wiping against the vine-covered wall and the other clutched to his heart.

“I see that I’m not welcome,” sniffs Nicky dramatically. Andrew can’t even put forth the effort to roll his eyes, but he makes sure his stare emits his intention. Nicky turns away, nose in the air, taking the basket with him but leaving the book and one of the onesies. “I guess I’ll have to give this delicious piece of chocolate cake to someone who will love me…” He sees him peek over his shoulder; Nicky is trying, and failing, to hide a smile.

Despite himself, he finds himself tempted. He swallows the abundance of saliva that has suddenly collected in his mouth. Before he can help himself, he lets out a whimper of want.

Nicky turns fully back and pulls out a wrapped parcel, clearly in the shape of an enormous slice of cake — c _hocolate_ cake.

Andrew’s favorite.

“The first slice from a new batch. Not even available for the public yet; it’s Jeremy’s experimental creation. Chocolate and bourbon with a sweet cherry filling.” He waves it in front of his face temptingly, and Andrew can smell the rich chocolate and cherry.

“... Fine,” he says. “Leave the damn cake. You can stay, but the moment you piss me off you’re leaving.”

“Anything for my favorite little cousin!” Nicky says cheerily. He sets the cake down on the table and produces a fork seemingly from thin air.

Nicky’s endless chatter is worth it, especially after that first bite.

For the next hour, he takes bites from the cake in between flipping through the pages of Nicky’s book. It’s exactly as terrible as it looks, but he still finds himself morbidly absorbed. Nicky seems content just to be near him because he doesn’t quite talk his ear off. Instead, he tends to customers as they walk in; of the three cousins, Nicky was perhaps the one best suited for dealing with customers.

He is pulled from his reading later, however, at the sound of Nicky’s voice. It isn’t difficult to determine what they’re talking about.

“— in town,” Nicky says, hushed. He’s uncharacteristically quiet. “I don’t know much about them, but I do know they are trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?” Asks Dan, the school teacher. She’s gripping the bottle of migraine potion in her hand so tightly, Andrew nearly tells her to put it back on the shelf before it shatters. Instead, he continues to listen in.

“They don’t — they don’t have any dealings with evil magic. Not like —“ Nicky leans in to whisper, so quiet that Andrew strains to hear. “Not like the Moriyamas. But I’ve heard that they make people disappear without a trace. Not even a body.”

Dan gasps. “And they’re here? But why? We’re hardly a town of note.”

“That’s why it’s so concerning. Apparently Renee, you know her, she told me all of this: A group of strangers, just three men and a woman came to the inn last week. Normally people love to chat about anything, but these folk were unusually tight-lipped. At first they hung around the town center, kind of like any tourist, but a couple nights ago, they’ve been going into the southwest portion of the forest early in the morning and coming back late in the evening.”

“Maybe they’re hiking…?”

“Maybe if we actually had trails. But here —“ Nicky sweeps his arms across the breadth of the space between them. “I’ve been living here for years and the forest is still too unfamiliar for me. You’ve lived here your whole life; you make your own paths if there aren’t any. The Forest is dense enough that you would need guidance. Some people are worried someone is going to disappear into the woods and never come back.”

Andrew has heard enough.

He slams the book closed with enough force to startle both Dan and Nicky and stands up, sweeping his cloak across his shoulders.

“I’m leaving. You know where the keys are. Lock up when you leave,” he says to Nicky tersely. He nods to Dan as he leaves the shop.

“But wait—!” He doesn’t wait to hear Nicky’s protests and hurries into the sunset. The shop is closing soon, anyways.

But the rumors trouble him. Neil lives in the southwest portion of the forest. The Hatfords and disappearing people. The strangers’ suspicious activity.

He tugs his cloak closer to his body and walks into the forest.

-

He, Nicky, and Aaron used to explore the woods when they were younger. When Nicky left, it was just him and Aaron. The dark woods were a welcome escape from their mother; she was never too far from the bottle, and she was quick to raise their fists at them.

It’s where they first made their first promise, carved into a tree and sealed it with blood. The rudimentary magic sparks between them still, now. They have never broken it.

The way to Neil’s cottage in the woods doesn’t pass by that tree, but he still knows the path. An old couple lived there years ago until sickness took them both; he and Aaron had explored it thoroughly until a nearby hunter caught them. It was good timing, too, for they had been playing far too close to a bear trap.

When he pushes himself through the underbrush to the cottage’s clearing, he is momentarily transfixed by what he finds. It is utterly transformed from the wreck it had been when he was a child. A family of deer - deer! - casually graze among the rabbits, and a plethora of birds have made their home in the trees around the cottage. A near-forest of roses crawl up the side of the cottage, spreading its fine aroma across the clearing. Andrew can hear their delighted humming, and the trees whisper to him of gentle hands and gentle words.

He is awed.

He treads carefully past the animals and through the unmaintained garden. (Unmaintained, as in there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to where the flowers and herbs are planted — the weeds and any other growth seemed to be well maintained by the many denizens of the cottage.) He knocks on the door with a few sharp raps.

“Andrew?” Neil calls from the cottage. He is half-leaning outside a window, and his hair is tousled as though he’d been running a hand through it repeatedly. He also has… something smeared across his cheek. Andrew decides not to ask. “What are you doing here? Wait — let me —“ Neil ducks back inside and a moment later the door opens.

“Hi,” Neil says.

“Hi,” Andrew replies. “You haven’t visited. I was—“ He isn’t quite sure what to say.

“You were worried?” Neil asks with a cheeky grin. The something on his cheek is brown and clumpy. He hopes it’s mud and not… something else.

“You have, uh…” He gestures at his cheek.

Neil blinks. “Oh!” He touches it with a bare hand, and Andrew winces internally. “It’s some mud, don’t worry. Some of the possums decided to roll around in a bit in the wet dirt, and I had to clean them up. Why don’t you come in?”

Neil steps aside to let Andrew walk inside. The first thing he notices is that the inside of the cottage is just as chaotic as the outside. Neil leads him to his kitchen, looking entirely unruffled, as a pair of squirrels circle around his feet and run through his legs. A barn owl is sleeping in the rafters, and Andrew spots Sir and King curled up in a box that is in the prime position for sunlight.

“Would you like something to drink?” Neil asks. He’s scrubbing the mud off his face with a washcloth. He looks right at home with the animals, considering his unkempt appearance.

“No thanks. I just came to check up on you.”

“You were worried. I know.” Neil’s smile is smaller this time, though no less genuine. A pigeon flutters down from the rafters to alight on his shoulder. He doesn’t even seem to notice. The bird stares at him with one beady eye. If he could understand what it was saying, he’d think it was threatening him. “... is something wrong?”

Andrew decides to ignore the bird. “The townsfolk have been buzzing about some strangers. They have apparently been shady and going in the forest. This side.”

“And you came to visit me?”

“If something were to happen to you, I... would be lost.” It is both too close and too far to how he truly feels. Neil seems to understand, though, because he comes close.

“Hey.” His voice is soft. Neil’s hand hovers over his elbow in question. Andrew nods jerkily. The hand comes close to grasp Andrew’s arm gently. His thumb runs back and forth over the crease of his elbow. The goosebumps that follow make his skin prick with anticipation. “You don’t need to worry about me. The townsfolk — they’re probably talking about my family. They came to visit, and they can be… rather reclusive.”

“Is that so?” Andrew stares into Neil’s blue, blue eyes. He’s not lying. But he can feel that Neil is hiding something. “How is your family related to the Hatfords?” Neil’s face hardens, and he looks away. Andrew steps back. While he had been consumed with the desire to be near Neil, to maybe fall into his embrace — it’s apparent, now, that there is still so much they don’t know about each other. But walking through the woods has reminded him of the promise he made with Aaron all those years ago, to always be there for each other, to keep each other safe. As much as he wants Neil, he can’t ignore the danger he poses if his connections to the Hatfords are true.

“I can’t answer that,” Neil says softly. It is an indirect admission.

“Neil.” Neil looks back at him, but his face is carefully blank. It’s the most distant he has felt since they first met.

“How did your mother die?” Of all the things that Neil could have asked, could have replied, this is the most unexpected. In their many talks Andrew has only mentioned his mother twice: once, in passing to mention that she died, and the other was the most brief of recounts of his and Aaron’s childhood. He can remember every single conversation they have had, down to the most minute details. He is sure that he didn’t mention anything else.

“An answer for an answer,” Andrew replies carefully.

“Yes,” Neil says simply. Andrew inclines his head in acknowledgment, and Neil leads him to the kitchen table. A chicken roosts on the table, but Neil doesn’t seem to even notice it. When they are sitting across from each other, he begins. “What I want you to know is that no matter who I was before, I am still Neil Josten. I have never lied to you about that. But I have not always been Neil.

“Before I was Neil, my name was Nathaniel. But my true name, my middle name now, has always been Abram. I was named after my father, Nathan. But my mother named me Abram. After her dead younger brother, she always told me. My father’s family name was Wesninski.”

Andrew inhales sharply at that. “Wesninski, as in —”

“— affiliated with the Moriyamas, yes. My mother’s maiden name was Hatford.” Neil isn’t just connected to the Hatfords: he _is_ a Hatford. “When we left my father, my mother took us to stay with her brother. There, she allowed me to take a new name. I chose Neil. I _became_ Neil. But I didn’t want the life of a Hatford.”

“I’m surprised they let you leave.”

“I’m the nephew of the head of the family. I was the only exception because of this.” Neil pulls down his bottom to expose his gums. Etched at the base of his bottom front teeth was a spell of silence. “When I said that I can’t tell you anything, I meant it. When I left, they gave me this, and I became Neil Josten. Not Hatford.”

“So then you came here.”

“Not immediately. I traveled here and there, and I discovered my love for animals. This is where I’m happiest. My family visited because they worry for me — they have no business here, nor will they ever, if I can help it. I will make sure of it.” Neil reaches out a hand, waiting. Andrew takes it, and Neil squeezes once. His hands are warm and calloused.

“You should tell them to be more subtle,” Andrew says after a moment. “They have the whole town gossiping about them.”

“I will. But now it’s your turn.” Neil is staring at him intently.

“Our mother was never really a mother, and she was never kind to me or Aaron. Maybe there was once a time…” Andrew shakes his head. “No. I can count the number of days she was truly sober on one hand. When we were very young, we had Nicky with us to distract her from us or vice versa. When he left, it was just us. Us and her and... eventually her boyfriend. He would get close to us. Too close. Our mother never believed us and she would get angry if we ever implied anything, even after he left.

“One day, our mother beat Aaron within an inch of his life — or at least she thought it was Aaron. I took his place without his knowledge, and she beat me in a drunken rage. I don't remember why, exactly. It was some combination of just us being at the wrong place at the wrong time and her getting dumped, I guess. It was Aaron who nursed me back to health. A week later, our mother died in her sleep. You’re not supposed to take sleeping potions with alcohol, you see.”

He doesn’t mention that she had taken an entire bottle: more than ten times the required dosage. He also doesn’t mention that she was already asleep halfway through the bottle.

He doesn’t need to say it because the hard look in Neil’s eyes and the way he clutches hand shows how much he understands.

A loud clatter from the next room over startles them into moving part. Neil wastes no time getting up, jerking open the door to the next room.

“Charles!” He shouts. Curious, Andrew follows him to the other room. It’s not the same room that he saw when he first walked in; it was probably more accurate to describe the room as an open-roofed and open-walled enclosure. From what he could remember, this area would have been the main bedroom. It looks like Neil had taken down the roof and most of the walls to make a large enclosure for a number of aquatic animals, including Charles, who Neil was picking up. He balked at the creature in his arms.

“You are in big trouble, mister. You know you aren’t supposed to fight with the other gator.”

The alligator blinks at his benefactor. Somehow he manages to convey insolence. As Andrew steps further into the enclosure, he can see the cause of the fight: a large food bowl was flipped upside down, leaving fish scattered about the enclosure. Another alligator is across the enclosure, halfway in the small pool and scarfing down fish.

“Alligators aren’t native to this area.”

“They aren’t. Normally I wouldn’t keep non-native animals as pets, but these two were special cases.” Neil sets down the alligator on the far side of the enclosure and tosses the creature fish from a giant barrel resting just outside the enclosure. “Charles is missing his back right leg, and I rescued Beatrice over there from an abusive caretaker. There’s no way she could have survived out in the wild on her own.” Neil holds up a fish to him and gestures to the gator. “Want to try feeding one of them? I promise their bites are gentle.”

“... I’m good.”

Neil shrugs. “Your loss.” He tosses the fish and watches with a gentle smile as Charles snaps it up.

After the animals are fed — sometimes with much reluctant help from Andrew — he prepares to go with a promise from Neil that he’ll come back to the shop. Their conversation doesn’t quite fully alleviate his worry, but before he is out the door, he can’t help but press one hand to Neil’s cheek.

“Be safe,” he says. Neil leans into his touch.

“I will.”

In the light of the sunset, his blue, blue eyes look distinctly deeper. Darker. Neil holds many secrets, but Andrew knows he wouldn’t lie — not about this.

“We’ll see each other again soon,” Neil says. Andrew nods then leaves.

-

When he gets home, it’s late and Nicky is pacing in front of the fire. When he sees him walk through the door, his face lights up in relief and he rushes to him.

“Oh, thank the goddesses! I was so worried!” Nicky lifts his arms, but pauses before dropping them and instead hovering anxiously.

“Andrew?” Katelyn asks. She walks from the bedroom. Her hair is wet, and she looks just as worried as Nicky. “Nicky told us you abruptly left. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Andrew says curtly. “I just had to check up on something. I’m going to bed.” He tugs off his cloak and throws it onto the hanger, pushing past Nicky.

Nicky lets out a small sound, and Andrew pauses. He has his trembling hands clutched to his chest.

“I’m fine,” Andrew says again softly. He makes a decision then, and places a brief hand on Nicky’s arm. He pats awkwardly. “I really am. I went to visit Neil.” He pulls away, and just that moment of contact has brought Nicky’s smile back to his face. Nicky inhales sharply and sighs. He slouches forward and shakes his head.

“Andrew Minyard, you’ll give me grey hairs one day, and I’ll get the grossest frown lines and Erik won’t love me — ”

“He’ll love you even when you’re 90 and using adult diapers.”

“ — but I’m really, really glad you’re okay.” Nicky sighs again and picks up his basket. He digs through it and hands him the book and cake from earlier. “Here. You didn’t get to finish it.”

“Seriously? This again?” Andrew holds the cake protectively, but grimaces as he picks up the book by the corner. “You do know this is shit, right?”

But his question is directed to Nicky’s back; he’s already walking through the front door. Nicky tosses a wave over his shoulder. Andrew shrugs, and tosses the book onto the rug.

“How was Neil?” Katelyn asks. She’s leaning against the doorway. Although she looks tired, her smile is no less bright than usual.

“Fine,” Andrew says then stops. He really has been hanging out with Neil too much. He makes a face. “He’s okay,” Andrew amends belatedly. “Where’s Aaron?” He toes off his boots and makes a beeline for the kitchen. Her footsteps follow him.

“Sleeping,” she replies. “After you left, we had a house call to help with a birth. The midwife finally arrived after four hours. Thankfully, the baby and mother are all happy and healthy.” Andrew makes a noncommittal noise of acknowledgement.

“Coffee?” He asks, gesturing toward her with the tin of coffee grounds. She shakes her head.

“Aaron has been reading books on pre-natal care. No coffee for me. Or fish.” She sounds disappointed at that.

Andrew offers her the last of the milk. To compensate for his own milk-less coffee, he dumps spoonful after spoonful of sugar.

Without speaking, they both head out to sit on the back porch. By then, the sun has just dipped down the horizon. The hissing of grass around him has died down to a whisper. His hands itch for a cigarette, but doesn’t light one out of respect for Katelyn.

“So,” Katelyn says after a while. “What made you visit Neil? Isn’t that a bit out of the way?”

Andrew doesn’t say anything. Neither does Katelyn for a moment.

“You know, Andrew…” He turns his head slightly. She’s staring intently at him; her expression is not far from the one Aaron has when examining a patient. “Have you ever considered me as your family?”

“No,” he replies. And it’s the truth. Even though she and Aaron are married — and have been for years — to him she has still been an outsider. An interloper, albeit a tolerable one. And while he knows logically that Aaron and Katelyn are starting the next stage of their lives together with a baby on the way, he still feels some disconnect. It belatedly occurs to him that maybe, just maybe, she’s not the outsider. He is.

“Above all, I want you to know that if anything happened to you, Aaron and Nicky wouldn’t be the only one devastated.” She places her hand on her belly, deliberately or not Andrew doesn’t know. When she speaks again, her words are deliberate, pointed. “I know you like to pretend it’s only you and Aaron in the world, but you should know that a lot of people care about you. Including me.” And with that said, she gets up to leave.

He hears the door close behind him and it’s minutes before he realises that his hands are shaking. With a sound of disgust, he sets his coffee aside and lights up a cigarette instead. He stays awake until the moon is high in the sky and the exhaustion is too much to bear.

-

The next day, Andrew is lounging against the counter, reading Nicky’s damned book. For all he had complained the previous night that it was terrible, it had somehow drawn him in. He hates it. So much.

He’s strongly considering buying the next book. He’d borrow it from Nicky, but he definitely doesn’t want to hear shit from him.

The door’s bell jingles merrily, and Andrew lets out a grunt in greeting. Or deterrence. Who knows.

The customer is unperturbed and continues to walk up to the register. Unsurprising, considering most of the town was used to his lack of customer service manners. Andrew ignores him.

A ball of wriggly fur is placed down upon his book.

“Wh — ” is all he manages to get out before the ball of fur unravels itself to reveal Sir. Finally out of the grasp of her owner, she pounces on top of Andrew’s head like a stepping stone and onto the shelf behind him. Luckily, the shelf is full of plants and not any fragile potions bottles. Once she is settled on her new throne, she begins to groom herself. He rubs at his sore head and glares at the grinning Neil.

“Sorry about that,” says Neil, not sorry at all. “She was just really excited to be back.”

“Right.” The moment after that is filled with an awkward silence. Neil opens his mouth then shuts it. Eventually, he speaks.

“So, uh. What are you reading?”

Andrew blinks and looks down to the book. He flips it so the cover is visible. “It’s called Midnight. Nicky gave it to me.”

“Midnight? That’s the book my mother likes.” The thought of Neil’s mother — a _Hatford_ — enjoying a terribly written romance book about supernatural creatures is a little disturbing. Something in Andrew’s face must show because Neil grins and leans forward.  “She’s been to a couple book signings. Met the author and all. Maybe if I ask, she can pull some strings to get you —“

“Absolutely not,” Andrew interrupts. He crosses his arms over his chest. “I’m only reading these because Nicky wanted me to.”

“And since when have you done anything Nicky has ever asked you?”

Instead of answering, Andrew flips him off and points to the couch. Neil raises his hands in a placating gesture and retreats to his corner. Sir, seeing that her human is moving away, leaps down from her perch onto the counter in front of Andrew, shamelessly leaving behind paw prints. Neil sits down on the couch and pats his lap, pulling another ball of fur from the hood of his cloak. Andrew watches as Sir snuggles up to Neil and King; from here he can see that King’s eyes have opened. They’re almost the exact same blue as Neil’s, he notes with amusement. Like father, like son.

They’ve never needed to fill the silence between them, and this day isn’t any different. The shop gets the occasional customer, but in between Andrew will sweep the floor and pretend not to notice as Sir pounces at the bristles of his broom.

Eventually Andrew finds himself sprawled on the floor with Neil, flicking a dried piece of grass in front of the kittens. A customer, upon seeing the kittens, had cooed and stepped outside to fashion a small toy with a spark of magic. Since then, the kittens have had the time of their lives.

But it’s been an hour since the last customer, and the shop is about to close.

“You know, I’ve never seen you cast any magic beyond the basics.”

Andrew raises an eyebrow at him. “And I’ve never seen you cast magic at all.”

Neil scrubs a hand through his hair and the hint of wrist catches the light of the lamp. Sir catches the piece of grass and makes off with it. Andrew barely notices.

He’s always known Neil was attractive — devastatingly so. The man’s never mentioned any past lovers, nor has he ever displayed any interest in dating. Andrew can feel his own heartbeat thrumming through his chest, and he feels like a fish caught in a net.

“Last night, I told you that if something were to happen to you, I would be lost,” Andrew says.

Neil nods. Andrew opens his mouth to continue, but he finds his throat is dry, clears it and swallows roughly. Fuck. Have his eyes always been this fucking blue?

“Me, too,” Neil says, before Andrew can continue speaking. “I — I care for you. A lot.” It’s awkward and fumbling. It’s not what Andrew said. But it is very much what he means.

“Can I kiss you?” It falls from his lips without him thinking. Neil’s look of surprise breaks into a smile.

An unfortunate mew interrupts them.

“Oh, no — King?” They both look down to see King squirming. Sir walks over, grass abandoned, and grooms at his belly.

The moment is broken, but Andrew can’t find the energy to be annoyed. Instead, he just feels frustrated. King squints at him with his big blue eyes and mewls passionately once more.

“He’s hungry,” Neil sighs. “I should get going. I was here longer than I originally planned. I didn’t bring anything with me.”

“I won’t keep you waiting, then.” They both get up from the floor and brush off their clothes. “When will you be coming in again?” Andrew asks casually.

Neil holds out his hand, and Andrew takes it questioningly. “A farmer asked me to check out a nest of bats in his barn, so I’ll be away for a few days making sure they’re okay.” He squeezes Andrew’s hand once but doesn’t make a move to let go just yet. “I’ll see you soon. I promise,” Neil says and seals it with a kiss to Andrew’s knuckles and a cheeky grin.

When Neil leaves the shop, Andrew is aghast with shock.

“I can’t _believe_ you, Josten.” But his hand is left with tingles long after he leaves.

When the shop closes, Aaron finds him standing at the counter staring off into the distance.

“What are you doing?” Aaron asks suspiciously.

“Fuck off,” Andrew replies absentmindedly. He can’t see the answering eye roll, but he can feel it.

“Whatever. Erik dropped by when you were on your lunch break. He said he wants us to visit him and Nicky for dinner next week.”

“Have fun.”

Aaron steps in front of Andrew so he can’t avoid his gaze. “By us, he means _us._ ” Aaron makes a vague, flailing gesture between himself, Andrew, and the direction Katelyn is presumably in. Either Aaron and Katelyn have had long, involved talks about them all being family or some bullshit, or being married has merged them into some kind of hive mind.

Andrew is banking on the latter.

“I’m not goi —“

“Erik told me that Nicky will be buying several pies for us. _Jeremy’s_ pies.” Well... that changes things. “And he also told me Nicky wanted you to invite Neil.” Absolutely not.

“Absolutely not,” Andrew repeats out loud.

“Nicky will make spicy food if Neil doesn’t come, and I won’t be allowed to take any pie home. But you bet we’ll have spicy leftovers. For _days._ ” There it is. Andrew scowls. “Good food and pie if you come with Neil,” Aaron emphasizes.

“Fine but the moment you or Nicky start being weird, I’m leaving with him.”

Aaron, the bastard, looks smug. “It’s more food for me.”

Andrew lets out a disgusted sigh. Neil will probably say no, anyways.

-

Of course, he is proven wrong the very next time he sees Neil.

“I think it would be nice to meet the rest of your family,” says Neil with a small smile. They’ve migrated over to the couch. Both Sir and King are curled up in Andrew’s lap sleeping; he wants to be annoyed, but they’re honestly too cute. He definitely won’t be admitting that to Neil, though.

“They’re bothersome.”

“You say that, yet…” Neil gestures to the entire shop. “You like to think you don’t care but you do. You really do.”

Andrew answers with his middle finger. “If you’re serious about coming to dinner, then you can just meet us at their house. It’s the blue one with orange trimmings on the south side of town. Trust me when I say you can’t miss it.”

“Blue?”

“Erik liked blue, and Nicky liked orange. They made a compromise.”

“They sound nice.”

“If by nice you mean annoying, then yes.” In front of him, King makes a little mewl of discontent, and Sir wakes up briefly to groom him back to sleep. After a minute, he settles back down to sleep. Andrew strokes the kitten’s ears, which flick in response.

“8 o’clock, right? Sounds fun. I look forward to it,” Neil says.

-

At Katelyn’s insistence, they all arrive early to Nicky’s and Erik’s home. When they knock on the door, Nicky bursts out in a flurry of excitement.

“Oh, hello! Thank you so much for coming — is that wine? Please tell me that’s wine. Erik wouldn’t let me buy more than two bottles for us. It’s so good to see you all!” Nicky hugs Katelyn, pats Aaron on the shoulder, and herds Andrew in without outright touching him. The force of nature that is his personality is more than enough to direct them all into their cozy kitchen.

Erik is there ladling food into plates, and he glances back with a smile when he sees them come in.

“Hey, Erik,” Aaron says. Andrew greets Erik with just a nod and stays silent. “Need any help?”

Nicky interrupts. “Absolutely not. We invited you here. Go sit down and — I don’t know, be pale.” He shoos them all toward the dining table where the placements are already set. Nicky fusses for a moment before returning to the kitchen.

Katelyn and Aaron chat idly and after a few minutes, they hear a soft knock on the door. Nicky pops out his head from the kitchen. “Oh, that should be Neil, right?” Before Nicky could head to the door, Andrew abruptly stands up.

“I’ll get the door.”

Nicky blinks at him in surprise and nods. “Well, alright. Tell him the food will be done in a moment,” he says and goes back into the kitchen.

When Andrew opens the door, he can’t help but stare. Neil looks…

“Nice,” Andrew says. His hair is combed for once, and it looks like he’s wearing his nicer boots. Not that that says much about the current state of his boots.

“What?” asks Neil.

“Lice,” Andrew replies. “You look like you have lice.” Neil just gives him a confused look. “Never mind. Come in.” He steps aside to let Neil in.

“Where are the cats?” Andrew asks, noticing the lack of mewling; he’s also wearing just the one cloak. He gestures toward the coat hanger, and Neil hangs up his cloak.

“Oh, I wasn’t sure if Nicky or Erik were okay with me bringing over my pets. If they were interested, I would be perfectly happy to introduce them some other time. Oh, and I brought this.” He holds up a bottle of wine.

“Nicky’ll like that. Come on.” He leads him to the dining room where Nicky and Erik are setting down dishes. The scent of the food hits him, and his belly growls softly.

“Neil, right? Aaron.” Aaron gets up to shake Neil’s hand. They all introduce themselves to him.

“Andrew told me you were vegetarian, so we made sure to include food that you will be able to eat,” Erik says. Neil doesn’t flinch from Erik’s strong handshake, and Andrew feels reluctantly impressed.

“Thank you. I brought this for you, too.” Erik takes the bottle of wine with a murmur of thanks and slips into the kitchen to open it.

“Sit, come on, sit.” Nicky waves Neil over to the spot next to Andrew. With the way the table is set up, Andrew is sitting across Aaron and Neil sits across from Katelyn while Erik and Nicky are sitting at either end.

Erik pours the wine for all of them. When he’s done, Nicky lifts his glass in a toast. “To good food!”

As they eat, they make idle talk — usually about the shop, Erik’s business, or Neil’s practice. Somehow the conversation turns to first impressions.

“My first impression of Aaron was of some squirt rummaging around my father’s books like he was on a mission.”

“Hey!” Aaron protests. “I wasn’t _that_ short.”

“I don’t remember calling you short,” Katelyn says innocently. Aaron flushes pink, and Andrew shares a snicker with Neil. Katelyn continues. “He was on a mission, of course, but I didn’t know that until later. He just seemed annoying to me, so I didn’t even bother talking to him, until one day when I saw him haggling with my father — and he _succeeded_.” Katelyn looks at Aaron with a fond smile, and Nicky coos. “I knew then that I wanted to get to know him. I’ve never seen anyone successfully haggle with my father. It’s actually why my father fully supported our marriage.”

“That and because he knew that if you stayed in the family business, you’d take it over from your older brother — forcefully, even, if you needed,” Aaron points out.

Katelyn sniffs delicately and dabs at her lips with a napkin. “I can’t help it if I’m better than them at business. While they were out gallivanting with their friends, I stayed behind to _actually_ learn how to manage the books. They’re lucky we’re not merchants, too, or else we’d put them out of business.” Katelyn directs the last to Aaron.

“You scare me sometimes,” says Aaron in a disgustingly fond voice.

“Don’t worry.” She pats Aaron’s hand. “All of my older brothers are too prideful to ask for help, so give it a few years; I’ll casually offer help and pull some strings here or there. Then I’ll just take it over in no time.”

Erik snorts and coughs. “You definitely take after your father the most. I don’t know a single man better than him at business.”

“What about you two?” Everyone turns to Andrew and Neil. “What were your first impressions of each other?” Nicky continues.

Andrew and Neil glance at each other. “... His boots were falling apart. At that point, his boots were more hole than shoe.” He was also drop dead gorgeous, even in a dirty old tunic and messed up boots. Andrew isn’t going to mention that, though.

“You had terrible customer service manners. Though I guess that’s just a fact that everyone in Palmetto just accepts now…” Neil trails off.

“It’s practically infamous at this point. I’ve never met anyone more terrible at saying just a few words. Or smiling,” Nicky says pointedly.

Andrew quirks an eyebrow. “Yet somehow we’re still the most successful potions shop and clinic in Palmetto.”

“That’s because we’re the _only_ potions shop and clinic in Palmetto,” points out Aaron.

Andrew waves a hand in dismissal. “I’m still right.”

“That’s it?” Nicky presses, leaning forward. “Nothing else?”

“Well…” Once more the rest of the table turns bodily toward them. “I remember when I first walked in, some of the vines framed your head like a leafy halo. I don’t think you noticed, but I didn’t want to mention it in case they were, uh. Doing something important.”

Andrew remembers vaguely how shifty Neil had been acting that first day they met. Was that what had really happened?

“I’m not going to lie. It was weird.” Andrew imagines the vines taking offense at being called weird. He’s glad they aren’t here to hear. “But the potions shop is peaceful. With you around.” Neil looks away, and — yes, his ears are pink. Andrew leans forward, enraptured.

“Even with the weird plants?”

“Well, I talk to animals, so I can’t really judge...” Neil looks back, and they stare into each other’s eyes, caught —

“Ahem.” Erik clears his throat. Nicky is staring at them in shocked delight, hands cupped before his mouth. He looks as though he wants to say something, but Erik rests a hand on his shoulder, and he visibly calms down. “Ah, what was that about animals and talking to them?”

Andrew sits back as the conversation shifts to magic. He doesn’t bother participating in the conversation anymore, but no one else seems to notice. He’s preoccupied with the knowledge that Neil was just as fascinated with him in the beginning as Andrew was with Neil those many months ago when they first met.

-

“I should get going,” Neil eventually says. Luckily, Nicky and Erik’s home is not too far from the forest’s edge and therefore Neil’s cottage.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay the night?” Nicky asks. He’s wrapping up packages of extra food for everyone to take home; personally, Andrew has an eye on an extra large piece of pie. He hopes that piece was saved for him. “It’s dark out.”

“It’s fine,” Neil says. “Animals don’t attack me. And I highly doubt there are bandits out in this area.” Nicky looks like he wants to protest more, but Andrew interrupts and herds Neil to the door.

“I’ll walk you out.”

Once outside, they stop on the front stoop of the house. It’s cold, and Andrew visibly shivers.

“Here,” Neil says, and unclasps his cloak to drape over Andrew’s shoulders.

“Won’t you be cold?” Andrew can see gooseflesh rising on Neil’s arms, but he seems unbothered.

“Take it,” Neil says firmly, and fits together the clasp. “If it really bothers you, think of this as returning the favor from the last time I slept in your shop.” Neil’s hands drift from the clasp and brush against his arms. Before Neil can pull away, Andrew grasps Neil’s hands with his own.

“Hey,” Andrew says.

“Hey,” Neil replies.

“Can I kiss you?” Andrew asks, leaning forward slightly. Neil smiles.

“Definitely yes.”

They are so close now that Andrew can see every single eyelash framing Neil’s eyes. His eyes flick down to Neil’s lips and flick back up. Andrew tilts his head and leans forward to press a kiss to Neil’s.

The door opens, and they spring apart.

“Neil, wait you forgot your extra… oh.” Nicky stares at them wide-eyed. He’s holding a package — presumably the pie. Neil is looking up at the sky, ears flushed a bright red.

They were so _fucking_ close. Andrew hopes the glare he is delivering is just as eviscerating as he’s trying to make it. “I’ll just, uh.” Nicky awkwardly shoves the package into Neil’s hands and pats his arm. They still don’t make eye contact. “Here. I’ll go back inside.” He slithers back inside the building.

After a moment, it comes: “Andrew’s _gay?_ ” Both of them can hear Nicky’s hiss to presumably the rest of the party back inside the house. Andrew facepalms.

“I’m sorry — ”

“I should — ”

They both pause, having spoken at the same time. Andrew gestures to let Neil speak.

“I should really go. It’s getting late,” Neil says, and Andrew tries not to feel disappointed. Neil darts in close and presses a quick kiss to Andrew’s cheek. “For the road home,” he adds.

Andrew clears his throat and steps back. “I’ll see you soon, then.”

“Tomorrow,” Neil promises and leaves with a cheeky smile.

-

Tomorrow comes and Andrew is left anxiously waiting. The customers must notice because more than one comments on his unusual attentiveness.

Carmen (affectionately known as Carm. Also un-affectionately known as Nosy Carm.) squints at him when he greets her. “Aaron?” She asks. She adjusts her glasses and leans into Andrew’s personal space. He backs away discreetly. “Mm, no. Not Aaron.”

“Your potions, Carmen,” says Andrew drily, and pushes the package toward her.

Her eyes look huge and bug-like behind her glasses. “You’re waiting for something. Or… someone.”

Andrew doesn’t reply.

“Aha! I was right! Is our darling Andrew Minyard finally in love?”

How the hell did she get from ‘waiting’ to ‘love’? Andrew decides to ignore her.

“That’ll be 15 silver pieces,” is all he says. Carm smiles like they’re sharing a secret.

“I do hope you introduce me to your special one soon,” she says. She leaves humming merrily.

And so the day goes, leaving Andrew itching under his skin and eager to close. Katelyn at one point pops out from the back to relieve Andrew from the customers from an hour; he nods to her gratefully as he heads to the back office to grab a short nap.

When he comes back out after his break, he’s annoyed to find the shop still busy. Aaron comes out from the clinic with a piece of bread stuffed in his face.

“Sho whus ehl?” Aaron asks, waving another piece of bread.

“What?”

Aaron swallows. “So where’s Neil?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Don’t get all snippy on me. Usually he’s here around now.” Aaron takes another bite, chewing obnoxiously just in the way that irritates Andrew.

“Hello Aaron, Andrew,“ greets one of their regulars.

Andrew points to Aaron. “I don’t know him.” But Aaron just gives him one of his _looks_.

“I’m just glad you finally introduced him to us.”

-

When Neil finally comes in, he only has a moment to wave and gesture him to his usual corner. From the corner of his eye, Andrew can see that Neil has settled the cats in his lap.

“Can I pet the kitties?” Andrew hears a child ask Neil; it’s the daughter of one his regulars.

“Of course,” Neil says. Andrew can’t see him from where he’s standing, but he can hear the smile in his voice. He aches to be near him. “Pet like this, gentle down her back. She also likes it when her ears are scratched.”

“What’s her name?” asks the child.

“Sir Fat Cat McCatterson. But you can call her Sir.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Sir,” she says seriously and shakes her paw.

Eventually the store dies down, and after a good half hour with no customers, Andrew decides to close early. Aaron and Katelyn will have one hell of a time trying to brew potions the next few days to get it all restocked; it feels like most of the shelves are empty at this point.

He tosses a broom to Neil, who helps him sweep up without comment. The marigolds are whispering secrets to him again, so he sprinkles a little water on them. They apparently have heard from a beetle who heard from a petunia who heard from a robin who heard from a worm (right before it was eaten) that their former headmaster was quite possibly in a romance with a new person in town.

When he walks by the kittens curled up in the shadow of the aloe plant, he can’t help but pause for a moment to scratch behind their ears.

After he finishes up with the plants, he counts the day’s earnings. It’s comfortable, the silence between them. He feels no obligation to make small talk or make any fuss at all. When he glances at up at Neil in between paperwork, he gets a smile in return. Neil waits patiently for him by the door, kittens safely enclosed in the hood of his cloak. When he finally locks up for the night, they spare a moment to look up at the sky and breathe in the fresh air; they still have not spoken since the store closed. If the stars were shining in the night sky, then Andrew could have admitted it was a little bit romantic. Instead the moon was but a sliver waning in the sky, and the air was just a little bit too cold to bear.

“I want to kiss you so bad.” Andrew doesn’t look at Neil as he says this. He doesn’t know how to say, _I ache to be near you_ or _you’ve taken down my defenses_ or _my hand feels empty without yours._

A hand encircles his own. He looks over to Neil. There isn’t enough moonlight to highlight his expression, but he’s sure whatever is there is enough to bring him to his knees. Figuratively and literally. His throat feels dry.

“Then kiss me.”

“What?”

“Kiss me.”

Andrew turns to face him fully and gives into the urge to run his hand through Neil’s hair. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” He can feel Neil nod against his hand. He waits a moment for Neil to change his mind or for something to interrupt. Nothing.

He guides Neil’s hands to grasp his shoulders, and they press closer. Neil’s lips are chapped and rough against his. It’s not entirely pleasant until Neil pulls away for a brief moment to kiss the lobe of his ear. Arousal pulses through him like fire. He pulls Neil back to kiss him once more. A bite to his lip, and — yes, that was definitely a shiver. They draw away from each other after a moment to catch their breath. One of Andrew’s hands is tangled in Neil’s hair while the other has come down to grasp Neil’s hip. He presses his forehead to Neil’s.

“Finally. I was expecting something — or someone — to interrupt us,” Neil sighs. Andrew leans forward and buries his face in Neil’s shoulder, muffling his laugh. Arms wrap around him and they stand silent for awhile, basking in each other’s presence.

Eventually the cold gets the best of both of them, even with both of Neil’s cloaks, and Andrew has to suppress a shiver.

“... I think about you a lot,” Andrew admits.

“At night?”

“... Not just at night.” Maybe if he was anyone else he would be telling Neil that he loves him, deeply — but he isn’t anyone else. Neil pulls back, and Andrew lets him slip from his grasp.

“Andrew…” And there they are, Neil’s blue, blue eyes. Andrew is filled with the urge to kiss him again and again. So he does, smothering Neil’s smile with kiss after kiss. Once he starts, it’s hard to stop.

“I like you a lot, Andrew.”

“You’re more tolerable compared to the rest, Josten.” He’s not quite sure if he’ll ever be able to say that four letter word — but there’s no denying that what he feels for Neil is almost tender, soft. It’s terrifying.

It’s thrilling.

And who knows: maybe it’s fate or just dumb luck that they managed to find each other. Either way, Andrew has no regrets.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr at [Mokuuton.](https://mokuuton.tumblr.com/)  
> I have _so_ much lore in this universe that I couldn't address... :D  
> (Also cookies to whomever finds the uhhh popculture references... :") )


End file.
